Posted by Snoozy on May 10, 2003, at 12:20:25
In reply to Effexor alternatives ???, posted by John2222 on May 9, 2003, at 23:51:47
The good (?) news is that Effexor is probably the worst when it comes to withdrawl. I wasn't given any warnings about tapering, and just stopped taking it. You can imagine how fun that was. Paxil can be bad too.
I never had a chance to try it, but I hear that low doses of Prozac, because of its very long half-life, are used to help with withdrawl from the shorter half-life drugs like Effexor. You may want to ask your dr about it.
Did you want to stop taking Effexor because it wasn't working anymore? I'm sure the veterans here can give you some ideas on what you may want to consider trying next.
I know it can feel like a catch 22 sometimes. I would say don't let fear of going through another Effexor-type withdrawl stop you from trying other medications. If the Effexor did help you, then I would think some of the other drugs might help too.
Good luck to you.
> After taking Effexor XR for approximately a year (up to 112.5 and 150 mg/day), I am trying to taper and quit it. It did a fine job of helping with mild depression and anxiety during the year.
>
> HOWEVER, I am having trouble (HELL) trying to quit. I'm down to 1/2 of 37.5 and experiencing constant high frequency ringing in my ears and head.
>
> But my question is...with lots of other having same withdrawal problems, what are the other anti-deprssants/GAD's that are worth considering? Or is withdrawal from all of them this bad?
>
> It's like the cure (withdrawal) is worse than the disease (depression/gad).
>
> I took Zoloft about 10 years ago for awhile, and had none of these problems during withdrawal, but honestly I don't think it was as good at relieving the deprssion.
>
> Am I in a catch 22? Only the worst AD's work?
>
> I am soooo frustrated and now fearful of ever getting off this, and ever trying anything else!
>
>
poster:Snoozy
thread:225514
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/225577.html